And you, child, will be named the prophet of the Most High: you will go before the face of the Lord, to make ready his ways;

MESSAGE

And you, my child, "Prophet of the Highest," will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,

NKJV

"And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,

PHILIPS

"And you, little child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way for his coming.

RWEBSTR

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

GWV

"You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High. You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way.

NET

And you, child,* will be called the prophet* of the Most High.* For you will go before* the Lord to prepare his ways,*

NET

1:76 And you, child,229

sn Now Zechariah describes his son John (you, child) through v. 77.

will be called the prophet230

tn Or “a prophet”; but since Greek nouns can be definite without the article, and since in context this is a reference to the eschatological forerunner of the Messiah (cf. John 1:17), the concept is better conveyed to the English reader by the use of the definite article “the.”

of the Most High.231

sn In other words, John is a prophet of God; see 1:32 and 7:22-23, 28.

For you will go before232

tc Most mss>, especially the later ones (A C D L ΘΨ 0130 Ë1,13 33 Ï sy), have πρὸ προσώπου κυρίου (pro proswpou kuriou, “before the face of the Lord”), but the translation follows the reading ἐνώπιον κυρίου (enwpion kuriou, “before the Lord”), which has earlier and better ms support (Ì4א B W 0177 pc) and is thus more likely to be authentic.

the Lord to prepare his ways,233

tn This term is often translated in the singular, looking specifically to the forerunner role, but the plural suggests the many elements in that salvation.